Rowan
Milo was difficult to wake up in the mornings… and the afternoons… and whenever else he decided to nap. But he seemed genuinely thrilled about coming fishing with me each day.
I would pack our lunches—a thermos of coffee for me, and hot chocolate for Milo, who thankfully decided he didn’t like the taste of coffee—then I’d make him a warm breakfast, so he was well fed and ready for the day ahead.
We’d eat, and only at the very last moment before we left would he put on a coat, rain boots, and a beanie.
He always stripped them off the moment we were out of sight of humans.
Milo loved being in the water, his seal helping me with the fishing.
It meant that a large portion of the fish I brought in had seal-sized bite marks taken out of them, so I’d put those aside to bring home instead of taking them to the processing plant.
Milo ate a lot, so we had no trouble getting through them.
He’d been with me for two weeks, and he seemed just as excited about it as the day he’d woken up on my sofa. We’d barely spent a moment apart, and I was starting to think that maybe we just… wouldn’t. Maybe this was how life would be now. It scared me how much I wanted it to stay like this.
Maybe we would spend every night here, on a pile of blankets on a mattress on the floor in front of the fire. It wasn’t like anyone else ever visited me anyway. His nest could be permanent, and we’d find another use for the bedroom.
It could be a nursery, if what he’d told me was true, and if he really was capable of getting pregnant.
I’d so long ago given up hope of a relationship, not to mention having children.
But if I were to be really, truly honest with myself, and if I could decide the future I wanted, then I did want that.
I wanted it with Milo, my little hurricane, who blew into my life when I was far from prepared for him.
But he came when I needed him the most, so maybe his goddess was real.
Milo’s presence filled me with more warmth than any fire was capable of.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked me as his long, slender limbs stretched out on the blankets beside me before he snuggled back in close.
“I want to take you somewhere tomorrow,” I told him, placing a kiss to the tip of his nose.”
“Okay! Where?”
“Markets.”
“Where’s that?”
“Well, in the center of town, people will come and set up tables of things to trade.”
“What sort of things?”
“Food, clothes, things they’ve made. There are lots of things. But we have to be careful, okay? Just like at the store. There’ll be more humans there, so you need to stay close to me.”
“Okay.” He smiled, nuzzling that spot on my neck. “Can I trade for some things?”
“You want some money?”
He nodded.
“Sure, I’ll give you some.”
He smiled against my skin. “I want to look for some things too.”
“What sort of things?”
“It’s a surprise.”
The thought of Milo surprising me with anything was equal parts concerning and endearing.
Raina: Family call tonight?
I rubbed my eyes as I brewed myself my first cup of coffee for the day. Milo was still sleeping and would be until the smell of breakfast lured him over.
Rowan: Not tonight.
If Milo really was staying, then I’d have to introduce him to my family eventually, but a video call didn’t seem like the right way to do it, and I wasn’t sure how they’d react to him.
It wasn’t that he was a man. Ruben dated all genders and my family had always been supportive of him, and although I’d never openly told my family I was bisexual, I knew they’d be supportive of me too.
The problem was, anyone who paid any sort of close attention to Milo, as Raina was certainly going to, would very quickly figure out that he was something other.
I trusted my family. But there was a difference between telling them, “Oh, by the way, this is my boyfriend,” and “Oh, by the way, this is my boyfriend who I already live with that I’ve known for two weeks and found in the middle of the ocean because he’s a mythical being that can turn into a seal.
” Yeah, not exactly a phone-call type situation.
Was he even my boyfriend? Milo called us mates, but I didn’t know exactly what that translated to in human relationships.
Raina: Why not?
Rowan: Busy.
Raina: You don’t get busy?
I’d figure out what to tell my sister later. I tossed my cell phone on the countertop as I gulped down some much-needed coffee and started on breakfast.
I decided I wanted to make something new for Milo, taking out the wheat flour, sugar, eggs, and everything else I needed for Kalaallit Kaagiat. It had been a long time since I’d made it. I hadn’t been bothered to bake just for myself, but for Milo I was more than happy to put in the effort.
He was stirring on his blankets as I finished up.
“Morning, little hurricane,” I greeted as I set it down on the table with the cut rye bread, sliced meats and cheese, and a cereal Milo had taken a particular liking to. Then I went to make him a hot chocolate.
He drifted over, his seal coat wrapped around him along with one of the other blankets. His hair was sticking up at all angles, and his black eyes slow blinked, still heavy with sleep. “Morning.” He smiled. “What’s this?”
“Kalaallit Kaagiat. It’s a type of cake. You can have it with jam,” I explained, sliding the jar of jam to his side of the table.
Milo was generous with the jam before he took a bite, making a delighted sound as he kicked his feet under the table.
I made another coffee and sat down with him to eat.
When I was done, I brushed Milo’s hair into something tamer as he continued to eat until the table was clear, making happy little hums the whole time.
“I’m going to get chunky,” he stated, as he rubbed a hand over his full tummy.
“That doesn’t sound like a complaint.”
“It’s not. I’m gonna be fat and happy here with you. And round before I even get pregnant.”
I chuckled nervously. He spoke about living with me and getting pregnant as if it weren’t a gigantic life decision, just something inevitable and expected in our near future.
It was something I was still wrapping my head around, and I honestly didn’t know how long it would take for it to sink in and for me to trust that he was being serious about it all.
“Finished?” I asked.
Milo nodded, and we got ready to go out. I attempted to get him to wear pants, considering there were going to be more people around at the markets, but he refused.
“Can I have the money now?” he asked, pulling at my sleeve as we walked toward town.
I sighed, retrieving my wallet from my pocket. Milo snatched it out of my hands to go through it. He looked through the notes, then abandoned them in favor of the coins, which he quickly transferred to his own pockets.
“If you see something you want, let me know. I’ll make sure you’re trading the right amount,” I told him, knowing he’d get very little with what he’d taken as I took my now coinless wallet back from him.